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Comment by can16358p | Hacker News Reader

I never intentionally harm a single insect... except flies and mosquitos. I hope they do feel the pain as they deserve it!

Other than that I respect all of them.

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I used to never harm insects until I found ticks and mosquitos on my dog...So now I kill ticks and mosquitos.

I like spiders though. I have had one living in my bathroom window for about six months now. It seems to be eating other spiders that try to crawl in based on the contents of its web. I consider this rent payment and allow it to stay.

I have a similar spider story, for the past nine years a rather large spider (for the UK) had been living under the bookcase by my front door. I have left it alone, but do hoover up the graveyard of consumed insects every couple of months. I caught it a few months ago when I had new carpet laid, released it back to its spot once the bookcase was back in place :D

> I used to never harm insects

Humans frequently kill insects unconsciously. Take a peek at a parking lot next to a river in warmer months, absolve yourself of guilt.

The other "spiders" may be its molts. In any case, if it's growing, it's eating other bugs...

I remember having a spider outside my window with an orange body and green legs. It made a web all summer, and then laid a big egg, which hatched, and a hundred baby spiders came out and ate it.

I've had to relax my rule to never needlessly harm insects, and never do it just because it's the easiest way to get rid of them. For example, a single ant gets scooped up and thrown outside, but a line that found food is getting killed and their pheromone trail bleached.

I kill flies, mosquitoes, ticks and other insects that are dangerous to me.

I borderline do not care about the ones that I do not like because they gross me out but I am not actively killing them.

I protect many that I am not otherwise fond of, like spiders. I let them live their life in my apartment hoping that they will maybe pay me back by eating mosquitoes.

I think I do not care about 99% of animals (but I will protect them when needed), hate 0.5% and like 0.5%

I occasionally kill mosquitos, but I don't think they deserve it. They (and the diseases they carry) are just doing their part as ecosystems' hedge against monoculture.

I used to feel the same way but watching a flock of birds spend 30 minutes picking at every wriggling thing they see crawling in the dirt changed my perspective.

I'm a bird watcher, I go out a fair amount so I've seen a lot of predation, not just of insects but other birds and mammals. I still don't want to do needless harm to any animals, even insects. I'll still take out roaches, fire ants, flour moths, and other invasive/pest insects, but I actually feel some remorse when I kill the moths and others since I believe they do suffer by my hand even if I don't have another choice I'd make.

and you still eat animals?

This feels like a comment made in bad faith.

No, I'm a vegetarian, actually. I haven't eaten meat intentionally for around 35 years now.

For me it's various forms of fruit flies. That they come into my office and just fly at my face or in my food randomly... well, i hope they suffer lol.

I'm plagued by fruit flies but I can't say I've ever wished them harm. Which is weird because they're incredibly annoying. I think something has to be annoying me "on purpose" for that. And sure, I might swat at them or whatever, but that's just to make them go away.

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